On Friday, September 18, 2020, Megan Gustafson, who is a former South Shore graduate (2015), came to speak to South Shore students in grades 4-12 about life in the WNBA and professional basketball. Her visit was made outside of the school near the playground because of visitor restrictions.
Megan went to college at the University of Iowa, where she became Iowa’s all time leading scorer and rebounder in basketball. She was also the Naismith National Player of the Year for the nation, AP player of the year, along with being the nation’s top scorer and field goal percentage shooter for two years in a row (2018 and 2019). She currently plays professional basketball for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. Megan spoke to the students about her unique experience in the WNBA “Bubble” or “Wubble” as they call it, in Bradenton, Florida, where all the WNBA teams played in a controlled environment this past summer. She explained the health/safety precautions that the players had to go through, including daily COVID testing, health precautions, and the visitor restrictions. Students were presented with the idea that a student from a tiny, rural community can go on to achieve national-level accomplishments and pursue their dreams no matter how big those dreams may be. Students asked Megan some questions about life in the WNBA and the challenges and rewards of such a situation.
Megan completed her second season with the Dallas Wings just this past week (the WNBA season runs from June through September each year). She will be playing during the fall/winter/spring months for a professional basketball Euro Cup team in Gorzow, Poland, and will report there by September 26, 2020.